Matt’s Bookosphere 8/18/08

Matt Cheney celebrates Five Years of The Mumpsimus – Congratulations!

“Last Argument of Kings” now shipping in US

Some serious thoughts about love, politics and SF/Romance

“My first two novels were science fiction. I got gratifying reviews from many mainstream publications (the Los Angeles Times, New York Times Book Review, New Statesman and Society etc.) lesbian gay journals, and genre magazines. It was brilliant. I was manic with glee. One nagging annoyance was the insistence by many of the non-genre reviewers that my work ‘transcended’ science fiction. I’m sure most of them meant it as a compliment to me, but it’s actually an insult to science fiction.”

Interview with Adrienne Kress

Fantasy Pleasure Reading Contest at Brave Luck Books

Interesting piece on friction and conflict in the story writing process as it pertains to fantasy

Andrew Wheeler looks at Elmore Leonard’s Ten Rules for Writing

Interview with Charlene Brusso

Cover art for Mario Acevedo’s new book

Interview with Z.A. Recht

Fiction “Poison” by Henrietta Rose-Innes

When are vampires stories SF?

Is YA SF a force for good or evil?

Ten best SF planets

Stories by Paul Di Filippo and more at Steampod podcast

A history of the British Fantasy Society: The Early Years

A further history of the British Fantasy Society: The Later Years

Annual Apex Halloween Contest

Mythopoeic Awards: 2008 Winners Announced

Jonathan Wood announces he’ll be pulling a John Twelve Hawks

Examining Michael Chabon’s weird way of writing dialogue

Ten fantasy books or series everyone should read

The 1001 books you MUST read

Excerpt: “A Secret History of Moscow” by Ekaterina Sedia

Changes at Fantasy Book Critic: follow up

Review: “The Gargoyle” by Andrew Davidson

Nancy Kress is cranky at the movies

On teaching fantasy

Michael Berry is back to blogging

Heterotropian Choices: Samuel R. Delany’s “Triton”

The relevance of short SF/F

Review: “The Leather Maiden” by Joe R. Lansdale

“That is to say, mass consumer science fiction – that innocent artistic expression, made popular by the disinterested market – is the expression of the most primitive side of humanity.”

Austin American Statesman article on Armadillocon

Interview Daniel Arenson

Review: “The Little Book” by Selden Edwards

Rick Klaw – Nexus Graphica: Evolution of Con

Rick Kleffel has a lot of good things to say about Martin Millar’s “Suzy, Led Zeppelin and Me”

Two new alt.fiction events announced

McSweeney’s: Selections from H.P. Lovecraft’s Brief Tenure as a Whitman’s Sampler Copywriter

Book blurbs for sale - You stay classy, Blurbings LLC

Review: “The Mammoth Book of Extreme Fantasy” (It’s got electrolytes. OK, not really.)

More links from the SF Diplomat

Reviewer Edward Champion uncovers signs of an economic downturn

Interview with Steven Brust

On overcoming writer’s resistance

GenCon podcasts so far